Data-driven management has reduced the use of force and use of medication

From 2013 to 2014 Psychiatric Center Ballerup (Psykiatrisk Center Ballerup) reduced the number of belt fixations and the use of medication by using a data-driven management tool from SAS Institute. Thereby Psychiatric Center Ballerup has met the Danish government target on halving the use of force in the psychiatry before 2020. Martin Lund, CEO of Capitol Region of Denmark Psychiatry, states that Psychiatric Center Ballerup has shown how data-driven management can realize the government target.

In Denmark our ambition is to bring down the use of force at the Psychiatric Centers. Psychiatric Center Ballerup has succeeded in bringing down the use of force to a very limited number. This is good for both patients and staff. In Ballerup they have reached the target and even before schedule,” says Martin Lund

Martin Lund
CEO of Capitol Region of Denmark Psychiatry

In 2013 belt fixations were challenging at Danish psychiatry centers. Both politicians and professionals agreed that the area needed to tighten up. With the Danish 2014 budget agreement, use of force in the psychiatric departments was introduced to be reduced by 50% before 2020. Psychiatric Center Ballerup was one of the first centers to reach the goal. In 2013 René Priess started as Center Manager at Psychiatric Center Ballerup and in just 1 ½ year he and his staff succeeded in bringing down the number of belt fixations from 27 to 7 on a monthly average. They also succeeded in bringing down the use of medication.

Martin Lund says, that the results from the Psychiatric Center Ballerup look promising compared to the target outlined by the Danish government.

“In Denmark our ambition is to bring down the use of force at the Psychiatric Centers. Psychiatric Center Ballerup has succeeded in bringing down the use of force to a very limited number. This is good for both patients and staff. In Ballerup they have reached the target and even before schedule,” says Martin Lund.

From data free land to data-driven management

When René Priess started as Center Manager at Psychiatric Center Ballerup it was not possible to identify where to focus in order to make the conditions better for both patients and staff. René Priess started using a management tool from SAS Institute, to measure everything from activities to absence due to illness. The management tool is able to give an overview on the use of force and data on absence due to illness and productivity to an employee level.

“Data is here to stay. Data is important to each individual and to every psychiatric department. My goal is to introduce an improvement culture, where it is legitimate to look at data. Numbers showed that we had a large challenge with the number of belt fixations. I therefore decided that Psychiatric Center Ballerup should turn around and become number one in this area in particular,” René Priess says.

Among other things, René Priess introduced weekly leader meetings where all graphs and statistics were presented. This was to create a basis for all discussions and priorities. By doing this René Priess and his staff knew precisely where to focus. And in the cooperation with SAS Institute René Priess found a good sparring partner.

”It is crucial that SAS Institute has a good understanding of our organization and what my goals are,” René Priess says.

Data-driven management creates results

Data-driven management has not only lead to results for Psychiatric Center Ballerup in the reduction of use of force. When René Priess was recruited as manager, the absence due to illness was 6,4% at the Psychiatric Center Ballerup. In 2014, just 1½ year later it had dropped to 5,2%. Psychiatric Center Ballerup handled 56,000 outpatient services and expected to deliver 60,000 outpatient services in 2014. This number was more than 80,000.

”We achieve more than our goals. Our absence due to illness percentage goes down. My expectation is that the percentage will become even lower. Earlier we threw away 32 man-years and now the figure is 24. Every single day there are 6-8 persons more at work. We now handle 35% more outpatient services and this is done with the same amount of resources. I can only encourage others – also private companies – to head down the same road,” René Priess says.

The journey for Psychiatric Center Ballerup does not stop here. René Priess is looking at a new project together with SAS Institute. The aim is to lower the number of re-admissions.

Challenge

The increasing use of force and increased use of medication in the psychiatric departments. Furthermore, the psychiatric center lacked an overview over where to use the resources in order to reduce the use of force and the use of medication.

Solution

Data-driven management by a new management tool from SAS Institute. This tool gives an overview on everything from activities to absence due to illness to an employee level.

A culture where it is legitimate to use data as basis for all discussions and priorities in order to optimize certain areas.

Benefits

Belt fixations: From an average of 27,3 in 2013 to 7 per month in 2014.

Use of medication: From 28% in a combination therapy in 2013 to 19% in 2014.

Absence due to illness: From 6,4% absence due to illness in 2013 to 5,2% in 2014.

Services: From 60,000 out-patient services in 2013 to 80,000 in 2014.

The results illustrated in this article are specific to the particular situations, business models, data input, and computing environments described herein. Each SAS customer’s experience is unique based on business and technical variables and all statements must be considered non-typical. Actual savings, results, and performance characteristics will vary depending on individual customer configurations and conditions. SAS does not guarantee or represent that every customer will achieve similar results. The only warranties for SAS products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements in the written agreement for such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. Customers have shared their successes with SAS as part of an agreed-upon contractual exchange or project success summarization following a successful implementation of SAS software. Brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.